Dr. Chen rushed into the room accompanied by several nurses to conduct an evaluation, only to witness me marshaling every ounce of strength left in my fading body to violently fling Ethan's hand away: "I... I don't want to see you... Get out..."

The sudden void in his palm caused Ethan's breathing to freeze into ice.

"Get out! Get out!"

I screamed hysterically, my trembling voice saturated with pure, unadulterated grief and rage.

Ethan froze entirely in his tracks.

A terrifying sensation of freefall seeped into his bones from the soles of his feet, and a rare wave of pure panic flashed through his dark pupils: "Clara..."

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Before his words could leave his lips, I erupted into a severe, violent fit of coughing, my bloodless face turning a faint, ghastly shade of blue.

The attending nurse could do nothing but forcefully push the frozen Ethan out of the room: "The patient absolutely cannot endure any form of emotional distress. Family members must wait outside."

At this moment, Ethan looked like nothing more than a hollow puppet, allowing himself to be pushed out into the corridor. He could only stare through the glass of the observation window, watching the woman inside who refused to grant him even a single look.

In the very next fraction of a second, my parched lips quivered for a brief moment, and the nurse offered a nod before reaching out to pull the window curtains completely shut.

The light in his eyes died instantly, and it felt as though every drop of blood in his veins froze solid.

Recalling the absolute hatred burning in my eyes moments ago, his heart suffered a violent twist, the sheer impact of the pain leaving his legs completely devoid of the strength required to stand.

After an unknown length of time, the heavy door of the patient room clicked open, and the low, muffled sound of my weeping filtered out into the hallway.

Dr. Chen stepped into the corridor, closing the door firmly behind his back: "The patient's vital signs are stable for the time being, but her current emotional state is dangerously volatile. Throughout the course of her medical treatments, family members must do everything possible to soothe her mind and avoid causing any distress."

Ethan's face was masked in shadow: "Understood."

Dr. Chen hesitated for a long beat before ultimately disclosing the final results of the evaluations.

"Furthermore, her spine sustained irreversible, critical trauma from the collision. There is a distinct possibility that she will suffer from paralysis."

Chapter 18

Dr. Chen's declaration struck Ethan's ears like a thunderous explosion: "What did you say?"

He was fully aware that ALS would eventually culminate in paralysis, but that was supposed to occur three to five years down the line—it was absolutely not supposed to happen right now!

Taking several deep, stabilizing breaths, Ethan fought to master his emotions: "Since it is merely a possibility, I must trouble the medical staff to ensure that this possibility never manifests as reality."

Pausing for a beat, he added a final line: "At the very least, not before she realizes that she is entirely unable to stand up on her own."

Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Dr. Chen's mind.

Setting aside how his colleague Julian openly loathed Ethan, judging by the sheer aversion Clara had displayed toward him moments ago, it was blatantly obvious this man was a thoroughly terrible husband.

Yet throughout these past two days, he had stood watch by her bedside without sleeping a wink, and now every single word he uttered was explicitly focused on shielding Clara's mindset. He truly failed to resemble a thoroughly heartless monster.

Dr. Chen's tone remained professional: "Rest assured, I will put forth my absolute best efforts."

Ethan offered a slight nod of acknowledgment.

Listening to the sound of Dr. Chen’s footsteps fading down the corridor, his hand reached out to grasp the handle of the patient room door.

Yet the memory of Clara violently driving him out of the room moments ago continued to ring vividly in his ears.

In an instant, the courage required to push that door open completely evaporated, leaving nothing but a hollow, exhausted desolation.

Peering through the narrow seam where the curtains met, he could only catch a glimpse of the silhouette resting on the mattress, her eyes swimming with tears as she stared blankly at the ceiling, her entire body completely devoid of a single spark of life.

His constricted heart felt as though even its basic beats carried an agonizing pain, forcing Ethan to slowly drop his hand away from the handle.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

Listening to the rhythmic, mechanical cadence of the heart monitor, a stinging pressure built behind my eyes.

Throughout that endless dream, my parents were both still alive, Ethan loved me with everything he had, and my baby was safe and sound.

But a dream was destined to remain nothing more than a dream. The exact moment I awoke and my eyes locked onto Ethan, a terrifying realization struck me: I possessed absolutely nothing anymore.

Absolutely nothing...

Tears spilled over once more, soaking into my hair at my temples.

Throughout the entire night, neither of us managed to close our eyes for a single second.

Once dawn broke through the windows, I was officially transferred out of the intensive care unit and into a standard inpatient room.

Seeing my features masked in exhaustion as I closed my bloodshot eyes, Ethan simply stood in absolute silence directly outside the door.

Right then, Harvey arrived.

He extended a folder toward his employer: "Mr. Ethan, this is the newly restructured financial report compiled by the manager of the accounting division late last night."

Ethan threw a quick glance at my sleeping silhouette through the door glass, gently clicking the room door shut before opening the file.

A single sheet of A4 paper, carrying massive blocks of red ink highlighting missing balances.

A total sum of ten million dollars had been systematically siphoned out from various corporate projects, ultimately pooling into a highly private, secure account.

Because the transfers occurred after the official closing of the financial books, detecting the fraud was near impossible under standard circumstances.

Watching Ethan's face turn increasingly monstrous, Harvey carefully adjusted his glasses: "The man who dialed Melanie's number yesterday is named Liam. He operates as a salesman for an insurance firm, though we have yet to verify the exact nature of his relationship with Melanie."

"Where is Melanie right now?"

"She is temporarily detained at the local precinct."

Ethan stared fixedly at the account number, his face completely frozen into ice.

Ten million dollars was by no means a critical sum of money to his wealth, but Melanie had fundamentally trampled over his absolute bottom line—especially by deliberately seeking out Clara to trigger her emotional distress.

After a long silence, he handed the file back to Harvey, his tone flat: "Have her released."

Hearing the order, Harvey froze in absolute bewilderment.

Melanie had committed a severe, felony-level crime of corporate embezzlement; she was facing a highly probable sentence of life imprisonment. Furthermore, Ethan historically possessed a nature that demanded absolute retribution for any slight, so how could he possibly let her off the hook this easily?

As if reading the exact thoughts flashing through Harvey's mind, Ethan parted his thin lips, speaking softly: "Come closer."

Harvey stepped forward, and Ethan leaned in to whisper several sentences directly into his ear. Harvey's pupils violently contracted in absolute shock.

Yet meeting his employer’s lethal, merciless expression, he couldn't help but break into a cold sweat on Melanie's behalf: "Understood, I will handle it immediately."

With that, Harvey turned and departed.

Ethan rubbed his exhausted brow, turning his head back toward the inpatient room door.

Clara hadn't consumed a single bite of food; the moment she woke up, she would undoubtedly be hungry.

With that thought filling his mind, he quickly headed downstairs to purchase something for her to eat.

Inside the patient room.

Having just fallen into a light slumber, I was violently jolted awake by a dream saturated in a terrifying crimson.

Just as panic began to seize my mind, the door to the room was gently pushed open.

Believing it was Ethan, I opened my mouth, preparing to drive him out immediately, but my voice died in my throat the moment my head turned: "Julian?"

Chapter 19

Wearing his white lab coat, Julian walked into the room carrying a thermal container and sat down gently. "When I went home last night, Dr. Chen told me you were awake, so I stewed some snakehead fish soup for you. Drink it while it's hot."

As he spoke, he noticed that my forehead was covered in cold sweat, and there was still a lingering look of panic in my eyes.

She must have had another nightmare...

A trace of heartache flashed through Julian's eyes as he poured out a bowl of steaming soup.

The rich and savory aroma did not arouse my appetite, and I shook my head. "Thank you, I can't eat anything..."